Member

well, I cant say much for installing one, but my little heater buddy is kick ass, can put it where I please, only runs on propane so no battery draw etc, also has mounts on the back of it so you could technically mount it to a wall, and I think you can run it off the bigger tanks with the right fittings too. Just have to make sure you keep the vent open/window cracked when using it, something to consider

Adventurer

I've used both in my camper. The Buddy Heater is awesome for providing heat really fast. Even on the coldest of days the camper is nice and warm in 15mins. The downside is that it can actually get too hot. I've also had issues with the pilot light going out. The heater would run find for about 10mins but then it would go out and not work for a few hours. Some people say you need to clean the pilot light piping because condensation builds up.

The Camco Wave-3 isn't cheap but its great for a small camper. The cool thing that I like about the Camco is how it creates heat. Instead of having a flame it uses a chemical reaction. It does take longer to heat the camper but I feel safer using it in such a small space. Also the settings are better for what I need. The high setting on the Camco puts out the same BTUs as the Mr. Heater on it's low setting.

Active member

If you want a furnace check out Propex, I looked into the Truma's but there's no US distributors for service/warranty like Propex has.. they seem like nice units otherwise.. If you have a VarioHeat I'd love to hear more about em, not much info from actual users.. Ive got a smaller propex in my uninsulated westfallia and it does great.

Camco Wave heaters are well worth the cost over a buddy if thats your style (no electric, burning air you breathe), they burn pretty much all the propane they consume and dont stink up the place.. they also work at high altitude and can be recess mounted if you'd like.. Buddy stinks, is made of plastic (my handles been broken for ages), wont stay running or even start at altitude, and consumes alot of LP.. but it does put out alot of heat for cheap (if you ignore the cost of feeding it 1# bottles nightly)

My current (much larger than yours) travel trailer build i'm doing both, the Propex for thermostat controll (no overheating on mild nights) and daytime use (no hot elements for kids and pets to encounter) and the Camco for backup heat source and base heat on sub freezing nights where the 9500btu Propex is not enough, without incurring any additional electrical penalty w/the additional heat output.

Active member

yeah but they dont distribute or sell the VarioHeat in the US, its not a product on US site.. if you go to international site you can find it.. and I cant find anyone selling em within the US.. I can import one from the UK, but im gonna have to service it through the UK then it appears.

I'm keen on its higher output and variable output that the propex 2800 dont offer.. but furnaces can be finicky things, especially after a while in service, and I dont want to end up SOL w/an expensive paperweight if it stops working on me.

I also think Europe operates off different gas pressures than we do, so it may not be running at proper efficiency if you dont adjust your regulator.. but this applies to the Propex too.. IIRC from reading the manuals of both, they specify desired pressures that we dont typically run at.

Explorer

I've used both in my camper. The Buddy Heater is awesome for providing heat really fast. Even on the coldest of days the camper is nice and warm in 15mins. The downside is that it can actually get too hot. I've also had issues with the pilot light going out. The heater would run find for about 10mins but then it would go out and not work for a few hours. Some people say you need to clean the pilot light piping because condensation builds up.

The Camco Wave-3 isn't cheap but its great for a small camper. The cool thing that I like about the Camco is how it creates heat. Instead of having a flame it uses a chemical reaction. It does take longer to heat the camper but I feel safer using it in such a small space. Also the settings are better for what I need. The high setting on the Camco puts out the same BTUs as the Mr. Heater on it's low setting.

The pilot light 'going out' on the Buddy Heater is the low oxygen cut off kicking in - not good! This means your are at risk of CO poisoning. Do you have a CO monitor? Did it go off?

The non-vented heaters (Wave, Buddy etc) are really not a great choice for regular use - there is a safety issue with Carbon Monoxide/Oxygen depletion and all the combustion products end up in your living space, making condensation issues far worse. Vented heaters (Propex, Truma etc) keep the combustion products outside - are much safer and produce 'dry' heat.

Adventurer

The pilot light 'going out' on the Buddy Heater is the low oxygen cut off kicking in - not good! This means your are at risk of CO poisoning. Do you have a CO monitor? Did it go off?

The non-vented heaters (Wave, Buddy etc) are really not a great choice for regular use - there is a safety issue with Carbon Monoxide/Oxygen depletion and all the combustion products end up in your living space, making condensation issues far worse. Vented heaters (Propex, Truma etc) keep the combustion products outside - are much safer and produce 'dry' heat.

Rando, yes I have a CO monitor and it did not go off. When it happened the first time I thought the same thing so I exited the camper for a few hours to play it safe. When it happened again I took the heater outside and it did the same thing.

I agree that these type of heaters create condensation. I've contemplated spending the extra cash for something else but I'm not there just yet.

Active member

were you at altitude? the low oxygen sensor also keeps it from running at altitude.. sometimes I could get it fired up in mountains, other times I could not at the same camp.. so barometric pressure was virtually making me thousand feet higher one night than the other.

also low oxygen shutoff from exhaust is going to be the result of carbon dioxide, not monoxide.. we breath out dioxide, so does the furnace as it consumes oxygen.. a carbon monoxide alarm will not trigger in this event.

Ive never had condensation issues with window cracked, but FWIW I live and play in very arid environments so it takes some effort to get moisture issues.

Explorer

The point of the low oxygen shutoff is to prevent the production of CO (monoxide) due to incomplete combustion in an oxygen poor environment. So your right, it is not CO that is causing it shutdown (altitude aside) but it is shutting down to prevent the production of CO.

New member

Thank you. I bought a Buddy as a temporary heat source for Yellowstone this Oct, but I am intrigued by the Truma Vario Heat because I would like to install it out of the way in my 2012 Eagle. It looks smaller and simpler to install than the Propex. The Camco appears to need wall space that I don't have. I will post updates when I install something.